Most likely another birthday fic for Tirya. Bug and Orion are mine. Sirius is Shades', Celeste is Tiyra's.

The Gift

Bug stood in the corridor staring at the door. On the other side was the girl he'd fallen in love with and then hurt in the worst way he could imagine. She'd said she'd forgiven him but her family, especially her two brothers, had not. In fact, her brothers had made it pretty clear that he wasn't welcome. He still carried the bruises from the beating they'd warned him away with.

He had taken the beating silently, feeling he'd deserved it, and hadn't even felt relief when their grandfather and uncle had pulled them off of him. The pain reminded him of the pain he'd caused their sister.

He raised his fist to knock, a small present in his other hand. His palms felt sweaty and he nearly changed his mind but the gift, its scent strong even to his rather weak nose, gave him courage.

He knocked and waited, nearly turning away again when his fear of the two younger boys came back. Actually, he was more afraid of Orion than Sirius. Orion was only a wee bit older than Sirius but a good deal taller, heavier and stronger than either of them. Bug was 18 and shouldn't have been afraid of a 13 year old except when the 13 year old was better trained and very angry. That was when he felt the fear was justified.

He had just about decided that no one was home when the door opened and he looked down into the beautiful but unseeing eyes of Celeste, the girl he'd hurt. He stared silently at her, afraid to speak, worried that she'd turn him away when she realized who it was.

Celeste tilted her head curiously, waiting for the unseen person to identify himself. She sniffed the air and blinked at the strong scent. "Hello?"

"Hi…" Bug said quietly.

Her face lit up when she recognized his voice. "Bug!"

"Yeah…" he answered, happy that she seemed happy to see him.

She looked over her shoulder nervously. "Shhhh, they're in their room. They have their Primus forsaken music turned up loud so if you're quiet…" She smiled softly and reached for his hand, her fingers touching his shirt. She sighed softly. "I missed you."

He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. "I missed you too. So much."

She led him by the hand to her room and shut the door behind her. He thought that was very brave of her. He wasn't going to hurt her but it was possible she didn't know that.

"I'm glad you came, Buggy. But why? Orion is still making noises about what he'll do if he catches you with me again…" She smiled softly, "even though he's been warned what will happen to him if he does do anything. He's as stubborn as a dinobot. And I think maybe just as stupid sometimes."

Bug winced a little at that. He didn't want another beating. He hadn't been able to walk for a week after the first one.

"I know it's your birthday in a couple of days and, well, Christmas is coming up and I don't think I'll be allowed to give you your present at your party, since I'm not even invited, so…" He turned her hand over and put the small round object wrapped in brown paper on her palm.

She looked surprised and then smiled. "Bug! Oh, thank you. And sorry about that. I would've invited you, you know."

His heart skipped a beat at the reaction and he smiled back. "I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will… it's from you, after all." She took the present in both hands and brought it to her nose. "It smells wonderful. Cloves, like baking and…" She wrinkled her forehead thoughtfully. "Oranges. What is it, Bug?"

"Open it."

"Awww, you're not going to tell me?" Her fingers found the string that was holding the paper closed and untied it carefully removing the paper. Her nose wrinkled at the sudden whiff of the strong scent of cloves and the feel of the object. "It's spiky. What is it?"

"It's called a clove pomander. It's… sort of a traditional Christmas… thing. I thought it would be perfect for you. It smells good and has texture. I saw a picture of it and made one. The cloves form a pattern…"

"A pomander… I like the name. A pattern?" She felt the orange, concentrating hard as she ran her fingers over the cloves embedded in the fruit. Suddenly, her face lit up. "Stars! It's covered in stars! Oh, Bug… "

"So you like it?" Bug asked carefully.

"I love it, Bug. Thank you. "

"I figured that even if you can't see the stars you can still feel them. And it smells good while you're admiring them."

"That's so thoughtful… And you made it yourself… I don't know what to say."

He smiled sadly at her. "You're talking to me. That's enough, Celeste. I can't ask for anymore right now." He leaned in and kissed her gently on the forehead and then backed away.

She reached up and touched the spot, a smile that nearly matched his on her lips. "Give me time, Bug, okay?"

"Of course, Celeste. I did a horrible thing. I didn't expect you to forgive me so quickly, I'm grateful for that. Plus… you know I'll wait forever for you."

Holding the forgotten pomander in her hands, she nodded. "I know you will. I still love you, Bug. I know you didn't mean to… to do it the way you did. I forgive you in my head. My heart will take a little longer to heal. But you know what? You've helped it by just being you, by remembering my birthday and by taking the time to be thoughtful. Thank you for that too."

Her smile widened and she lifted the pomander to her nose again. "From now on, when I smell cloves and oranges, I'll think of you."

Bug sighed. "I can't ask for more. I won't bother you anymore tonight. Have a nice party." He turned to the door and peeked out, making sure the coast was clear. "G'bye."

Celeste opened her mouth to say something and then changed her mind. "Bye, Bug. And thank you again. I'll save a piece of cake for you, okay?"

He looked back at her, surprised. "Okay. That sounds great, thanks. Well, I guess I'd better go."

"Okay," she said in a small voice.

He didn't look back as hurried through the living area and out the door. Pausing in the corridor, he rubbed suddenly stinging eyes.

"Happy birthday, Celeste," he whispered to the closed door before heading back to his own quarters.